Introduction
The Stony Brook University Hospital has a dedicated Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) program within the Division of Infectious Diseases. The OPAT program oversees patients on intravenous antibiotics to treat some severe infections upon hospital discharge. The program uses a multidisciplinary, team-based approach, led by Dr. Bennadette Maramara and Kirandeep Kaur NP who work closely with pharmacists, skilled nursing facilities, and infusion nurses to ensure consistent and safe antibiotics therapy at home or at any outpatient setting.
Goals
The OPAT program is focused on safe, cost-effective support systems for vulnerable patients discharged on long term intravenous antibiotics. The goal is to decrease preventable readmissions and reduce hospital length of stays.
Opportunity for Fellows
Fellows will participate in the OPAT program during the clinical rotation. They will learn to optimize the selection of antimicrobials, routes of administration, and duration of therapy to improve outcomes and minimize side effects. Fellows will learn to manage common clinical issues such as the maintenance of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines and dose adjustments in the outpatient setting. The fellows will have opportunities to develop patient safety and quality improvement projects during training and to present them at local and national scientific meetings.
Series of Lectures
The OPAT program will offer internal course topics for fellows to discuss transitions of care, economics, reimbursement, insurance, quality metrics, application of antimicrobial stewardship, improving patient safety and compliance and frequently asked questions.
